CHESAPEAKE, Va. — The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) of Virginia is working to solve a decades-old cold case involving an unidentified man whose skeletal remains were discovered in Chesapeake more than four decades ago.
The human remains were found on November 19, 1983, in a wooded area at the end of Happy Acres Road in the Deep Creek section of Chesapeake. The man was believed to be in his 20s or 30s at the time of death, but his identity remains unknown 42 years later. Investigators believe the length of time between when he died and when he was found, is somewhere between one to four years.
"Unfortunately, since he was skeletonized, there were no fingerprints. There were no leads in 1983," said Lara Newell, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner Long Term Unidentified Coordinator.
Newell said there still are not any significant leads in the case now. However, investigators have pursued new avenues of identification over the years. In 2013, the FBI created facial approximations — sketches showing what the man's face may have looked like.
The The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is also attempting to trace the man's DNA through genealogical databases and ancestral connections.
"Genealogy kind of became the new technology that everyone was doing. We did send off some samples for him, so that is just kind of an ongoing process," Newell said.
The genealogical DNA process could take several years and depends on whether any relatives have submitted their profiles to genealogy databases.
This case is part of a statewide effort to reinvestigate older cold cases before crucial information may be lost forever.
"The length of time does make it a little bit harder because we are 40 years later, so people may have died. But that's why we're doing this push, to try to reignite some of these older cases, before the information that people may have is lost," Newell said.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is relying on media coverage and public assistance to help identify the man.
"Our hope is that maybe someone will come forward and say that looks like their uncle, or their college roommate, or their friend or son," Newell said.
If you have any information or questions about this case, call the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner at 804-786-3174 and ask to speak with Lara Newell.
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